Eve's Wine 101

Sunset Announces Sunset Celebration Weekend

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Oakland and Sonoma, CA (PRWEB) – Tickets are now on sale for the 19th annual Sunset Celebration Weekend, May 20 and 21, 2017, at Cornerstone Sonoma, Sunset’s wine country location. Sunset fans join editors, celebrity chefs, vintners, craft beer brewers and renowned lifestyle experts for this two-day series of culinary, wine, garden and lifestyle experiences. To purchase tickets and find more information, go to http://www.sunset.com/cw.

Airstream from the 2016 event.

Airstream from the 2016 event.

For the second year, Time Inc.’s Sunset, the leading lifestyle brand in the West, will host Celebration Weekend at Cornerstone, a marketplace with food, wine and spirits, shops, gardens and event spaces that serves as Sunset’s beautiful wine country location year-round.

Featured Exhibits, Seminars and Experiences

Sunset “Smart Cottage”
Feeling outsmarted by smart home technology? The Sunset “Smart Cottage” at Celebration Weekend will prove that a high-tech home can be both attainable and beautiful. Sunset has partnered with leaders in smart technology and design, including Mosaic, Decorist, California Closets and Thumbtack, to reimagine a classic 900-square-foot cottage on the Cornerstone property into a permanent showcase for function, technology and style. From Nest and Amazon Echo to the August Smart Lock and Phillips Hue lightbulbs, Sunset editors are curating the most powerful technology to up your home’s IQ.

Visit the “Smart Trailer,” a special-edition Tommy Bahama Airstream parked adjacent to the Smart Cottage, and discover a world of portable and easy-to-install smart devices that run on batteries but pack a big tech punch.

Can’t visit the Smart Cottage in person? No problem. Visit Sunset.com to view a preview of the “Smart Cottage.” The “Smart Cottage” will also be featured in the September issue of Sunset magazine, accompanied by an immersive 3D experience, using a Matterport Pro Camera, providing a view of the Smart Cottage from every angle on Sunset.com.

Camp Sunset
This year, Sunset is creating the ultimate glamping experience at “Camp Sunset.” Under three white canvas teepees, courtesy of Under Canvas, attendees can enjoy summer camp-style activities, a photo booth and gourmet s’mores while learning about the latest products essential for any glamping trip. Want more inspiration for cooking under the stars? Head over to the Live Fire cooking stage to check out the chefs from “Dirty Gourmet,” which was founded to rethink food in the outdoors.

From the Pacific Northwest to SoCal, the West’s Best Chefs Headline Two Days of Cooking Demos on Two Stages: The Sunset Outdoor Kitchen and the Live Fire cooking stage

Los Angeles
Alvin Cailan—Chef/Owner, Eggslut, Amboy and Unit 120

Portland
Tyler Malek—Head Ice Cream Maker, Salt & Straw (PDX, LA, SF), Wiz Bang Bar
Gabriel Rucker—Chef/Co-owner, Le Pigeon and Little Bird Bistro
Matthew Domingo—Culinary Director, Traeger Pellet Grills

Northern California
Ryan Scott—Chef/Proprietor, Finn Town; host, nationally syndicated “The Ryan Scott Show”; author ONE TO FIVE: One Shortcut Recipe Transformed into Five Easy Dishes (Oxmoor House/Time Books) (San Francisco)
Chris Cosentino—Chef, Cockscomb (San Francisco)
Perry Hoffman—SHED, Culinary Director (Healdsburg)
Douglas Keane—Healdsburg Bar and Grill; Two Birds, One Stone (Healdsburg, St. Helena)
Ari Weisswasser—Chef, Glen Ellen Star (Glen Ellen, Sonoma County)
Robert Masullo—Chef/Owner, Masullo’s (Sacramento)
Michelle Tam—Nom Nom Paleo (San Francisco)
Samin Nosrat—Author, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: The Four Elements of Good Cooking (Simon & Schuster) (San Francisco)

Wine Seminars
Join Sunset Wine Editor Sara Schneider and some of the West’s most revered winemakers and spirits experts for educational sessions that range from “Wine List Secrets from the Sommeliers” to “Zinfandel: Back to the Future with California’s Wine”.

Cost per seminar: $20 per person. Wine seminars have limited seating and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Purchase advance tickets while supplies last at http://www.sunset.com/cw. Tastings are included in the cost of each seminar. Must be 21+ years old to attend.

Tour the Sunset Test Garden
Designed by Homestead Design Collective, the Sunset Test Garden is divided into distinct garden “rooms,” including the Cocktail Garden, the Farm, the Backyard Orchard, the Flower Room and The Gathering Space, the outdoor living room of Sunset’s dreams.

Celebration Weekend 2017 Event Information:
A complete schedule of presenters and events, event information and online tickets are available at http://www.sunset.com/cw.

Stay up to date on Sunset Celebration Weekend 2017 by liking Sunset on Facebook and following Sunset on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, #sunsetcw.

Sunset Celebration Weekend sponsors include Belgard, Delta Faucets, Toyota Mirai, Sunbrella, and Pure Leaf.

***Event activities, participants and schedules are subject to change.

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ABOUT SUNSET
Time Inc.’s Sunset (http://www.sunset.com) is the leading lifestyle brand in the West. Through magazines and books, events and experiences and digital and social media, Sunset covers the West’s best flavors, destinations, design trends and innovations. Sunset engages and inspires an audience of over 5 million educated, active and affluent consumers every month through its five regional print editions—Pacific Northwest, Northern California, Southern California, Southwest and Mountain—as well as via all tablet devices and its website. In addition to its print and digital publications, Sunset showcases the region’s unique lifestyle and noteworthy destinations through its flagship events, established home programs, licensing partnerships, books and International Wine Competition.

Perlis Picks: Masters of Taste Returning on Sunday May 7th (NEWS: Use Promo Code Eve101 for 15% off!)

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What do you think of when you see the football field at The Rose Bowl stadium?

If you attended UCLA [or, like me, are married to someone who did], you might think of all those triumphs and heartbreaks that the students and alumni have experienced there when cheering on their Bruins.

Or, if you are a college football fan in general, you might think of the annual Rose Bowl Game held on New Year’s Day [“the Granddaddy of them all” according to famed sportscaster Keith Jackson].

Or maybe you attended another sporting event or concert there.

But how many times have you been actually on the field? Unless you played football or performed in some other way, I would venture to say: Not many!

16463283_1225589357555087_4828037638626655207_oLast year Karen and I had the pleasure of being out on the field of the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena with a thousand or so other attendees of the inaugural Masters of Taste event, bringing together the best of food and beverages to benefit Union Station Homeless Services. (Get your tickets and use Promo Code Eve101 for 15% off!)

When I wrote about last year’s event, I said: “If you missed it, you missed it.” But I also said: this event should be back next year – I expect even bigger and better.”

And I was right. It is almost time to do it again!

On Sunday, May 7th, 2017, from 3 PM to 7 PM, the 2nd Annual Masters of Taste will once again take place on the Rose Bowl field.

This is a great opportunity to have fun and do good at the same time. Last year’s event raised over $400,000 and this year’s target is well over $500,000, with all proceeds going towards the cause of ending homelessness.

Culinary Masters [such as Hache LA, Little Beast, and Redbird. etc.], Sweet Masters [ such as Lark Cake Shop and Magpies, etc.] and Beverage Masters [like Kombucha Dog, San Antonio Winery and 101 Cider House, etc.], along with live entertainment and more, you’re pretty much guaranteed to have a great time. For us wine lovers especially, I’d like to give a personal welcome to new attendees and friends Golden Star Winery and tercero, along with returning faves Ascension Cellars and Vinemark Cellars, not to mention all the other great purveyors.

You can see the entire list of Masters here:

https://mastersoftastela.com/the-masters/

We had the pleasure of attending the media preview for this upcoming event. While it was not on the field [sad face], it was right next to it in the Rose Garden. We were given the opportunity to sample the wares of:

Culinary Masters:

Chef Jenny Ross of 118 Degrees

Chef Kuniko Yagi of SpireWorks

Chef Erwin Tjahyadi, Bone Kettle and Komodo

Chef Paul Shoemaker of INTRO Art Gallery & Chef’s Table

Chef Michael Hung of Mama Lion

 

Sweet Master:

Café Dulce

 

Beverage Masters:

1886

Birds & Bees

Hall Winery

Trinchero Napa Valley

Indie Brewing Company

 

All the offerings were delicious. If I say that we especially enjoyed the uni tostadas from Mama Lion, the Bangkok sandwiches from SpireWorks and the 7th Street Saison from Indie Brewing Company, along with the cocktails from 1886 and Birds & Bees, that would in no way be intended to diminish the amazingness of the other items.

Based on the quality of the food, sweets and beverages at this preview, I’d guess that this year’s event will be even better than last year’s, if that is even possible. And don’t forget, it will be on the Pasadena. Rose. Bowl. FIELD.

Get your tickets and use Promo Code Eve101 for 15% off!

Michael Perlis has been pursuing his passion for wine for more than 25 years. He has had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show him the way, as well as a wonderful wife who encourages him and shares his interest. After a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as he possibly could, he had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Now, as Contributing Editor for Eve’s Wine 101, he does his best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers. Michael is also Vice President of Eve Bushman Consulting (fka Eve’s Wine 101 Consulting) http://evebushmanconsulting.com/ and President of MCP Financial. Michael can be contacted at michaelthezinfan@aol.com or michael@evebushmanconsulting.com.

Blues, Brews and BBQ to Kick Off Summer at BBQ & Beer Festival May 5-7

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3-day festival kicks off the Southern California summer season by celebrating the best of BBQ and craft beer

(Santa Clarita, CA) – Celebrate the most refreshing craft beers and mouthwatering BBQ in the state at the BBQ & Beer Festival, California Beer Festival’s 2nd annual end-of-spring celebration in Santa Clarita on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 5-7. This three-day event features the very best in BBQ and beer, served alongside some groovy beats from live, celebrated bands and musicians.

bbq-brews-logo-take6Friday evening at the BBQ & Beer Festival is a celebration of craft beer, bringing in a fresh wave of brews on tap and offering attendees the ultimate craft beer experience. With a multitude of microbreweries pouring over 50 different handcrafted beers and ciders on tap, beer enthusiasts are invited to discover new favorites and to enjoy established and well-loved choices.

Participating breweries include some California favorites such as House Beer, Santa Maria  Brewing Company, MadeWest, Rincon Brewery, Poseidon Brewing Co., The Dudes Brewing Co., St. Killian Importing, The Bloody Cure, Angel City Brewery, Golden Road Brewing, Goose Island Beer Co., Sierra Nevada, Stella Artois, Wolf Creek Brewing, Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits, Pocock Brewing Co., Lagunitas Brewing Company, Island Brewing Company, Elysian Brewing, Coronado Brewing Co., Firestone Walker and more. Friday attendees must be at least 21 years of age to enter the festival, and will receive an exclusive souvenir tasting cup for sampling with entry.

Saturday at the BBQ & Beer Festival is a family friendly BBQ extravaganza, designed with chowing down on the best hot, delicious BBQ and BBQ sauces from around the state in mind – and, of course, refreshing craft beer pairings for interested adults. A perfect family outing, Saturday’s event will feature live entertainment and a fun Kid Zone to keep everyone in the family entertained to their hearts content. Saturday’s BBQ participants include Black Sugar Rib Company, Carter’s Smoked BBQ, BBQ Smokehouse, Cowboy John’s Smoken BBQ and It’s in the Sauce BBQ, among others to be announced. (Note: there is no craft beer sampling on Saturday.)

New this year, the BBQ & Beer Festival has added a 3rd day of festivities. Sunday’s Blues, Brew & BBQ Festival will feature live bands including renowned blues band Tommy Castro & the Painkillers alongside its delicious and expansive BBQ and craft beer fare. (Note: there is no craft beer sampling on Sunday.)

Tickets are available for purchase online now. Tickets will also be sold at the door. Friday beer festival tickets range from $20 to $40 and BBQ Festival/Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival tickets are $10 (entry must be purchased per person for each day), with free entry for children 12 and under. Both days will feature a variety of live music and entertainment. Individuals must be 21 years of age or older with a valid ID to enter the Beer Festival on Friday and to consume alcohol for the duration of the festival. For more information, please visit www.BBQandBeerFestival.com.

About California Beer Festival
Since 2009, California Beer Festival has been hosting a variety of California’s favorite food and brew events. Though events such as California Beer Festival in Ventura, Marin, Santa Cruz and San Dimas, the Tequila and Taco Festival in San Diego, Santa Cruz and Ventura, the Winter Wine Walk in Ventura and Burbank, the Burbank Beer Festival, the BBQ & Beer Festival and the Champagne on Main Wine Walk & Spring Street fair, California Beer Festival shines a light on the craft beer movement and gets people together to celebrate and enjoy the best in craft brewing. California Beer Festival offers a chance for guests to expand their minds and educate themselves on new and old styles of craft beer. Individuals must be 21 years of age or older with a valid ID to sample beer.

What You May Not Know About Sake (AKA What I Learned From WSET Level 1 Award in Sake)

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Last week in the SCV Beacon I shared all that I was expected to learn at my Level 1 Sake class awarded by Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET). This week I want to share some of what I learned that I thought readers might enjoy:

IMG_9331A small wine glass is “ideal for serving premium sake…tulip shaped to enhance aromas.” Well, that just about made my day right there. Those cute little cedar boxes called “Masu” are not ideal as the wood could impart flavor to the sake.

The word sake, Nihon-Shu in Japanese, just means an alcoholic beverage. Our teacher Toshio Ueno explained that if you travel to Japan and are asked out for sake, be prepared as it could mean anything!

Any kind of clean water can be used to make sake, however, harder water (like we have in LA) will produce a crisper, drier, richer sake while softer water produces a softer sake.

Just like baking bread, there is a fermentation starter of rice, koji (mold), water and yeast that goes into the main fermentation where the balance of the mixture is added.

The alcohol level of most sake is between 15% and 17% but may have started out at about 20%; water is added before bottling to lower the alcohol percentage.

There are two basic styles of sake that produce different aromas and flavors. Sake with more acidity, umami (savory), cereal and lactic – the brewer has polished away only some of the middle layers of the rice. Sake with flavors that are more floral and fruity, with less umami and acid – the brewer has polished away a higher ratio of the rice.

Sake rice and table rice are not the same. Table rice has more starch, and sake rice has a starch core, also known as a “white heart.”

If the term “Junmai” is on the label, or even just part of the terms on the label, no alcohol has been added. Other popular sake – daiginjo, ginjo and honjozo – have alcohol.

If you take this class you will learn some of the Japanese labeling terms found on the bottle.

Like wine sake should be kept cool, may remain fresh for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator, can oxidize if open for too long and bright light should be avoided. Unlike wine sake should be stored standing upright (the screw cap can rust!), be drunk young and kept refrigerated.

If you are warming sake use a warm water bath (thermometer should read 176 Fahrenheit) instead of your microwave to control the heat. Sake labeled Futsu-shu, junmai and honjozo can be served both cold and warm.

Tokkuri is the name of the sake carafe and the traditional cups are called o-choko.

Why are the cups so small? Because refilling them frequently is a “tradition of Japanese hospitality.”

Pairing sake and food doesn’t just begin and end with Japanese fare like sushi or sashimi. Just like with wine pairing, go with foods that have a similar taste profile, i.e. sweet with sweet and savory with savory.

Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video, authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits. You can also seek her marketing advice via Eve@EveBushmanConsulting.com

Foodable Launches Top 100 Social Chefs 2016 and Chef Alliance

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Foodable Network, the premier web TV network for the restaurant and hospitality industry, is proud to announce its newest platform: the Chef’s Alliance, a guide to the top 1,000 chefs and artisans from the United States, Canada and Europe.

15039675_822254701210317_2851657938181615476_oWhether they are chefs, pastry chefs, mixologists, restaurateurs, sommeliers, baristas, or brewers, these innovative, culinary masterminds are performing at the highest level in their craft across the digital space. And no, this ranking isn’t handpicked by an editorial team — it’s all based on unstructured data.

The Chef’s Alliance is powered by the industry’s largest foodservice and chef-focused social data analysis platform, through Foodable Labs and the Restaurant Social Media Index, which tracks more than 200,000 chefs and 220 million global restaurant consumers over 500,000 foodservice locations.

Using this unbiased feedback, each chef’s score is measured by three different metrics, making up a 300-point scoring system. This point system is also weighted to account for major network celebrity chefs, giving all artisans an equal playing field across the board. The three metrics are: food sentiment, service sentiment and engagement, both in consumer-to-chef and chef-to-chef interactions.

Chefs and artisans from all cuisines and various regions are featured in the platform. With each artisan’s score, visitors will also find their most popular dishes, specialties, resources, biography and more.
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Interested in digging deeper? See Foodable’s latest report and first-ever interactive guide, the Top 100 Social Chefs of 2016.

What is a “social chef”? As technology has advanced, chef success goes beyond the right ingredients and cooking techniques — social media has allowed chefs to become their own brand. This report features the Top 100 Social Chefs who do this best. The full report includes the ranking of the top 100 social chefs in the United States, leading culinary trends, leading beverage trends, the best digital practices for chefs and more.

Both the Chef’s Alliance and Top 100 Social Chefs guides are dynamic and evolving, updating frequently with new profiles and other rich content as new information floods the industry. Be sure to keep up and check in often!

Explore today here.

ABOUT FOODABLE LABS:
Foodable Labs™ is a combination of modern agency services and groundbreaking, proprietary data intelligence for the foodservice industry. Foodable Labs™’ research and consulting is powered by the most expansive social data available today, and with integration of its patented in restaurant technology, provides global industry insights and one-of-a-kind overviews on chef, operator, and consumer-behavior trends.
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ABOUT FOODABLE NETWORK:
Launched in September 2013, Foodable Network is a media organization founded by restaurant industry publisher and producer, Paul Barron. With the largest social media audience and reach in restaurant trade, Foodable reaches chefs, operators and brands nationwide and internationally in Canada and the U.K. through broadcast-quality production, strong editorial content, the Foodable Top 25 rankings, reports and insights, the Foodable Annual Tech Guide and events such as Foodable.io. Visit us at http://www.FoodableTV.com.

Masters of Taste – L.A.’s Top Master Tastemakers Savor The Finer Things On The Field Of The Historic Rose Bowl (Sunday, April 3rd, 2016)

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Los Angeles, CA : The time has come to celebrate and savor the finer things in life at this year’s Masters of Taste, a new and exciting outdoor, luxury festival set to make its inaugural debut on Sunday, April 3rd, 2016 from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm on the field of the Historic Pasadena Rose Bowl.

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Masters of Taste will bring L.A.’s Top Master Tastemakers together for one afternoon to celebrate all realms of taste. Approximately 2,500 influential food and beverage enthusiasts from throughout the Greater Los Angeles area are expected to attend this exciting festival. This year’s Masters of Taste will include the finest fare from 40 Culinary Masters and restaurants, an array of delectable sweets prepared by L.A.’s top Sweet Masters, signature handcrafted cocktails and tastings from over 25 Beverage Masters which will include bartenders from top cocktail bars, wineries, local craft breweries, pressed juices, hand roasted coffee, plus lifestyle activations, live entertainment and much more.

The beneficiary of Masters of Taste will be Union Station Homeless Services, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization committed to helping homeless men, women and children rebuild their lives. Headquartered in Pasadena, the agency is the San Gabriel Valley’s largest social service agency assisting homeless and very low-income adults and families with services including street outreach, meals, shelter, housing, case management and career development. Since 1973, Union Station Homeless Services has helped thousands of people who were once homeless and without hope. 100% of the proceeds from this year’s event will directly support Union Station Homeless Services.

Some of the Masters of Taste 2016 participating Culinary Masters, Restaurants and Sweet Masters include:

118 Degrees  Chef Jenny Ross (Tarzana)

Alexander’s Steakhouse  Chef Matt Bata (Pasadena)

Ayara Thai  Chef Vanda Asapahu (Westchester)

Bacchus Kitchen & Eatery  Chef Claud Beltran (Pasadena)

Birch  Chef Brendan Collins (Hollywood)

Celestino  Chef Calogero Drago (Pasadena)

HACHÉ LA  Chef Michael “Mick” Schepers (Silver Lake)

Hamasaku  Chef Yoya Takahashi (Los Angeles)

Hyde  Chef Chris Crary (Hollywood)

Inotheke  Carolos Tomazos (Santa Monica)

Magnolia House  Chef Evan Colter (Pasadena)

Osawa  Chef Shigefumi Tachibe  (Pasadena)

Ozu East Kitchen  Chef Paul Yi (Atwater Village)

Redbird  Chef Neal Fraser (Downtown Los Angeles)

Sangers & Joe  Chef Laurent Quenioux & Chef Eduardo Pineda (Pasadena)

Say Cheese  Chef Glenn Harrell (Silver Lake)

SOL Cocina  Chef Tia Baker (Playa Vista)

Spare Tire Kitchen & Tavern  Chef Isaias Peña (Los Angeles)

The Raymond 1886  Chef Tim Guiltinan (Pasadena)

Toca Madera  Chef Raymond Alvarez (Los Angeles)

Wood & Vine  Chef Kyle Schutte (Hollywood)

Sweet Masters:  A select group of L.A.’s Sweet Masters will come together for one afternoon to showcase an assortment of delectable desserts such as handcrafted buttery toffees from Alique Gourmet Toffee, creamy gourmet single-origin chocolate and vanilla ice creams from Choctál, the finest globally-procured cacao from Chocolate Stars USA and authentic Danish pastries from Copenhagen Pastry just to name a few.

Some of this year’s participating Beverage Masters include:

Brewmasters:  Beverage Masters who specialize in barley and hops will be presenting top-notch ales, lagers, pilsners and more for guests to sample, sip and savor all throughout the event, including Southern California favorites Alosta Brewing Co., Bootlegger’s Brewery, Iron Triangle Brewing and Golden Road Brewing. Other fine breweries included in this year’s event are Elysian Brewing from Seattle, the famous Goose Island Beer Co. from Chicago and Northwestern favorite 10 Barrel Brewing Co., along with internationally acclaimed Brewmasters such as Shock Top, Stella Artois and Stella Cidre.  Added at press time: Indie Brewing Company.

Wineries:  A specially curated collection of Wine Masters will be showcasing their finest varietals including premium boutique winery Ascension Cellars, Ventura’s Four Brix Winery: who will be featuring their top internationally-inspired blends, Napa’s Jamieson Ranch Vineyards, Toluca Lake’s Spin The Bottle Wine Studio, and special selections from Ste. Michelle Estates, and more. Added at press time: Herzog Wine Cellars.

Bars & Spirits:  Some of L.A.’s top bartenders and cocktail bars will be creating first-rate craft cocktails showcasing the finest spirits, including a premium Barrel-Aged Cocktail Bar provided by Erik Lund and Alexander’s Steakhouse, signature handcrafted cocktails from Head Barman Peter Lloyd-Jones and 1886 Bar, and Mixologist and Sommelier Adam Seger will be introducing the newly launched Balsam Luxury Vermouth, with much more to be revealed.

Non-Alcoholic Beverages:  A variety of premium non-alcoholic Beverage Masters will also be on hand for those who wish to hydrate, caffeinate or regenerate, featuring the “bevolutionary” Bai who will be presenting their antioxidant juices, teas and water infusions, hand roasted, ethically-sourced coffee from the newly opened Demitasse Roastery & Kitchen, all natural, refreshing and energizing sparkling beverages from Diabolo and fresh, cold-pressed juices from Nekter Juice Bar just to name a few.

More Culinary Masters, Sweet Masters and Beverage Masters to be announced.

Sponsors:  Masters of Taste is made possible through the generous support of our sponsors, which include HomeStreet Bank, Judith L Chiara Foundation, Western Asset Management, Capital Group, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Bank of America, The High End, Wells Fargo, Westport Construction, Kauffman Wealth Management, Massage Envy, Hahn & Hahn LLP, Arroyo Insurance Services, Morton Capital Management, Union Bank, Seright Escrow, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, California Linen Services and Pasadena Now.

Ticket Information:  Masters of Taste will take place on Sunday, April 3rd, 2016. A VIP Power Hour will be held from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm and General Admission will be from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Tickets to this event are only available for guests 21+ and over. For more information on Masters of Taste or to book your tickets directly, please visit www.MastersofTasteLA.com/Tickets.

Location:  Pasadena Rose Bowl – 1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena, CA 91103.

Transportation and Parking:  Guests are encouraged to utilize car services – taxi, Uber, Lyft, etc. – since this event does serve alcoholic beverages. Complimentary parking will also be available at the event.

Have you tried: Pocock Brewing Company

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The scoop from their website:

We Are Proud to Announce That We Are NOW OPEN!

12140826_1226002300759567_7056816387390300187_nWe are Pocock Brewing Company – a family run craft brewery in Santa Clarita, CA. We start with a passion for quality craft beer, and a desire to share that beer with a thirsty public.

Taste evolves. Craftsmanship matters. Quality is essential. Choice is mandatory.

We witness these truths manifest themselves again and again in industries from technology, to food, to vacation experiences. Everywhere we look, there is evidence of these four ideals revolutionizing the way we enjoy our world.

Beer sits poised on the cusp of this revolution and will not be ignored.

Yellow, fizzy, flavorless suds, peddled by scantily clad co-eds, no longer satisfy the American public. Brewers like Sam Adams, New Belgium, Stone and Karl Strauss have tested the waters. These brewers put their toes in and swam. They defined the need, created the demand and expanded a once flat industry. These pioneers cut a path and laid the ground work for the next generation of brewers to come along and fill the needs of the beer drinking world.

This is where we come in. Pocock Brewing Company is positioning itself to craft flavorful, surprising and exciting beer. Our beer will be enjoyed by drinkers throughout California — locally crafted beer delivered to local drinkers — keeping the beer as fresh and flavorful as possible before it hits the tongues of happy people.

Thank you for taking a moment to read this.

We hope you will come visit and join us for a pint of one of our delicious brews soon!

37th Annual Food Fare Returns to Santa Monica on March 3, 2016

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37th Annual PPLA Food Fare Returns to
Santa Monica Barker Hangar on March 3, 2016

Save the Date for Los Angeles’ Premier Culinary Event

Enjoy a day and an evening of eating, drinking, shopping and fun in support of community health, education and wellness. Planned Parenthood Los Angeles’ 37th annual Food Fare will be returning to Barker Hangar in Santa Monica on March 3, 2016. This premier gastronomic event will showcase over 100 of Southern California’s best chefs, restaurants, caterers, wineries, breweries and merchants.
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In addition to the huge array of delightful food and beverage samples, Food Fare will highlight shopping opportunities as well as dozens of raffles and auctions where guests will have the chance to bid on coveted prizes including one-of-a-kind entertainment and culinary experiences.

For the first time, Food Fare will honor a Restaurateur of the Year. This inaugural honor has been presented to Jenny Rush, who founded and heads the Blue Plate Restaurant Group in Los Angeles.

Date:     Thursday, March 3, 2016
Daytime session: 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Evening session: 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Location: Barker Hangar
3021 Airport Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90405

Tickets will be available beginning January 1, 2016 at www.pplafoodfare.com or by calling (213) 284-3300. Advance purchase tickets for Food Fare 2016 are $150 for the daytime session and $275 for the evening session. Sponsorship packages start at $1,500 and are available online at www.pplafoodfare.com. For more information, please visit www.pplafoodfare.com.

 

WineFolly.com’s Madeline Puckette Headlines Fifth Anniversary Garagiste Festival Seminars

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Dynamic VIP seminar line-up includes Puckette’s “Exploring the Aroma Wheel” plus “Techniques of the Garagiste: The Secrets of Stems,” with winemakers Ryan Pease of Paix Sur Terre, Mikael Sigouin of Kaena Wine Company and festival co-founder Stewart McLennan

Paso Robles, CA – The Garagiste Wine Festival today announced that Madeline Puckette, wine expert and co-founder of the award-winning WineFolly.com, will headline the fifth anniversary festival’s signature tasting seminars in Paso Robles on November 7th.  Puckett’s seminar, Exploring the Aroma Wheel, will give attendees a unique opportunity to isolate specific wine aromas, and understand where they come from, with content from her new visual book Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine. Also joining the seminar line-up is Techniques of the Garagiste: The Secrets of Stems, featuring two of the hottest young Central Coast winemakers who are evangelists for whole cluster and stem inclusion, Ryan Pease of Paix Sur Terre and Mikael Sigouin of Kaena Wine Company, as well as Stewart McLennan co-owner and winemaker of Golden Triangle.

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The seminars are part of a jam-packed slate of events November 5th – 7th, in the Paso Robles area, celebrating the festival’s fifth anniversary, including over 50  ‘garagiste**’ winemakers pouring over 200 wines; a five-course winemaker dinner; a ‘Rare and Reserve” Winemaker Mixer featuring wineries from all over California, and much more.

“WineFolly.com is one of our favorite wine sites. It is incredibly informative, with great visuals, and it definitely shares our “no-snobs-allowed” policy,” said Garagiste Festival Co-founder Doug Minnick. “While Madeline is an experienced sommelier and holds multiple certifications, it is her down-to-earth approach to wine, wine knowledge and wine tasting that we know our attendees will enjoy and benefit from.”

Puckette co-founded WineFolly.com, an entertaining and educational site that offers answers to wine questions.  Through her work with Wine Folly, Puckette has received accolades from IWSC in 2013 as Wine Blogger of the year and Wine Enthusiast Magazine in 2015 as one of the top “40 Under 40” American Tastemakers. The site offers free articles, infographics, videos and sells products that help wine beginners learn.  The popularity of the site led to the creation of the book Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine, a visual guide published by Avery Books that is already an Amazon best seller.

The Exploring the Aroma Wheel wine tasting seminar will take place on November 7th at 11:00 am and will help attendees isolate, discern and remember wine aromas; how they translate to flavor, and how individual aromas interplay to create a complex, finished bouquet within the glass and on the palate.

The Techniques of the Garagiste: The Secrets of Stems seminar, which follows Puckette’s seminar at 11:45, will further enhance attendees’ wine tasting knowledge by exploring some of the winemaking techniques that make garagiste wines so extraordinary. Mikael Sigouin of Kaena Wine Company and Ryan Pease of Paix Sur Terre will join Stewart McLennan to shed light on a few of these techniques – such as stem inclusion (some winemakers’ trash, other winemakers’ treasure) – that can only be implemented with the flexibility of small-lot winemaking. The seminar will include tastings that showcase the difference these techniques – especially using the whole cluster, stems and all – can make in a wine.

Ryan Pease is co-owner with his wife Nicole of highly regarded and high-scoring Paso Robles-based Paix Sur Terre, which produces a portfolio of mineral driven Mourvedres along with small lots of Grenache and Syrah, among others. Mikael Sigouin is owner of Santa Ynez Valley’s Kaena Wine Company and former long-time winemaker at Beckmen Vineyards. Known by his peers and fans as The Grenache King, he was named one of the top 10 new Rhone producers by Wine Spectator in 2006. Stewart McLennan is co-founder of the Garagiste Festival and co-owner with Jeremy Morris of Golden Triangle. Golden Triangle’s first vintage will debut at November’s Garagiste Festival.

The non-profit Garagiste Festivals benefit The Garagiste Scholarship Fund of the California  Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo Cal Poly Wine and Viticulture department.

The seminars are only available as part of The Garagiste Festival VIP package. To buy tickets and for full festival schedule and details, go to http://californiagaragistes.com/buy-tickets/ To get the latest event info, sign-up for The Dirt at http://garagistefestival.com/sign-up/. Or follow us on Twitter (@GaragisteFest) or on Facebook.

Among the over 50 winemakers already scheduled to pour are:  Aaron Wines, Alma Sol Winery, Alta Colina Vineyards, Artisan Uprising, Ascension Cellars, Asuncion Ridge, Barton Family, Bon Niche Cellars, Caldera Cuvee*, Caliza Winery, Chene Wines*, Cloak & Dagger Wines, Clos Solene, Culton Wine Co., Cutruzzola Vineyards, DENO Wines, Diablo Paso, Dilecta Wines, Domaine Degher, DuBost Winery, Falcone Family Vineyards, Felten Cellars, Four Lanterns*, Frisby Cellars*, Golden Triangle*, Guyomar Winery, Hoyt Family, Irie Wines, Jacob Toft, Kaleidos Wines, Last Light Wine Co., MCV Wines, Michael Rose Cellars*, The Missing Leg, Nicora Wines, Nobelle Wines, On Your Left*, Pagter Brothers Winery*, Paix Sur Terre, Powell Mountain Cellars, Pulchella Winery, Ranchero Cellars, Ranchita Canyon, Rendarrio Vineyards, Sea Shell Cellars, Seven Angels Cellars, Seven Oxen Vineyard*, Soaring Hawk Vineyards, STANGER Vineyard, Stolo Family Vineyard, The Farm Winery, Tlo Wines, Turtle Rock Vineyards, Two Moons, Vin Alegre, Vinemark Cellars and Vino Vargas.

*Pouring for the first time at the festival

Sponsors include: Baker Wine & Grape Analysis, Barrelhouse Brewing Co., Broken Earth Winery, The Carlton Hotel, Diam, Distinctive Glassware, ETS Laboratories, Enartis Vinquiry, Farm Credit West, G3 Enterprises, Glenn Burdette, Hampton Inn & Suites, La Quinta Inn & Suites, Laffort USA, mWEBB Communications, The Oaks Hotel, The Paso Robles Inn, The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance, Stolzle Glassware, Ted Hamm Insurance, WineFolly.com, Wines & Vines, and Vineyard & Winery Management Magazine.

For sponsorship info, email info@garagistefestival.com.

**Garagistes (garage-east) is a term originally used in the Bordeaux region of France to denigrate renegade small-lot wine makers, sometimes working in their “garages” (anything considered not a chateau), who refused to follow the “rules,” and is now a full-fledged movement responsible for making some of the best wine in the world.  The Garagiste Festivals were the first to shine a light on the American garagiste winemaker in 2011. Since then, the festival has helped consumers discover the remarkable wines of hundreds of true garagistes, who handcraft under 1,500 cases a year and pay close, hands-on attention to every wine they make.

About The Garagiste Wine Festivals

The Garagiste Wine Festivals (http://www.garagistefestival.com) are the first and only wine festivals dedicated to the undiscovered and under-recognized American artisan ‘garagiste’ producers who are making some of the best, most exciting, handcrafted small-lot production wines in the world. Founded by fellow garagistes Stewart McLennan and Douglas Minnick, the Garagiste Festivals are committed to discovering the best and most innovative limited-production winemakers and promoting and showcasing them to a broad audience of discerning wine consumers. In addition to its flagship annual festival in Paso Robles, CA, the Garagiste Festival line-up includes Garagiste Festival: Southern Exposure, featuring Santa Ynez Valley garagistes; the Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure, in Los Angeles; garagiste mini-tastings presented from So Cal to Tahoe; winemaker dinners, a newsletter, garagiste profiles and more. The festivals were named one of the ‘Top Nine Incredible Epicurean Vacations’ in the world by ABC News,* “one of the premier wine events of the year,” by the LA Times and “Best Festival” by Sunset Magazine’s ‘Best of the West.’ The festivals are produced by Garagiste Events, a non-profit dedicated to furthering the education of future winemakers and those training for employment within the wine industry. Proceeds from the festivals support the Garagiste Festival Scholarship fund of the California  Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo Wine and Viticulture Department.

Local Brew News: 8one8 Brewing UPDATE

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TARGET OPENING DATE 8-18-15

Some of you have followed us for years, months, weeks, days and we appreciate all the support! We’ve been busy working to get the 8one8 Brewery open. Check out our blog to read and see what we’ve been up to -> http://818brewing.com/home/

818backWe’re also excited to announce the 8one8 Brewing Founders Club! We’ve been overwhelmed with support and excitement during this hectic time of opening up our small batch Nano Brewery in the San Fernando Valley! The process to open is a journey and we want our early supporters to have the chance to be part of something special: Our Founders Club! This is the opportunity to join us and become a founding member. This club will be available for a limited time with limited number of members (total of 818 members)

 

CLUB BENEFITS:

** One Limited edition 8one8 Brewing Founding Member t-shirt with personalized number (1of818, 2of818 etc.) Will be available 1-2 weeks after order.

** One 22oz bomber of a limited edition special batch release from the brewery (we will brew and age this batch once the brewery is officially and legally opened) Available 3 months after opening!

** One membership card good for 10% discount on all brewery purchases! Events and special releases will be available to members first. Valid for one year

** Name mention on website and at the brewery location as a founding member.

 

One time membership dues of only $38.18

LIMITED TIME – LIMITED MEMBERS – JOIN TODAY AND BECOME A FOUNDING MEMBER! SHIRT-MOCKUP

CLICK HERE TO JOIN! -> http://bit.ly/8one8_FOUNDERS_CLUB

Bryan and Derrick thank you for the support and we would appreciate passing this info about 8one8 Brewing to friends, family, co-workers and your favorite local watering hole! CHEERS!
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8one8 Brewing, LLC
8951 De Soto Ave.
Canoga Park, CA 91304